I was using a combo of an N800 and a Razr2 with 3g service for a few weeks. Its a very powerful combo. I can transfer images taken with the razr to the n800, upload them, make posts on the internet, copy links to images. I can record video with the phone, transfer, and watch it on the tablet. I can piggyback the n800 on the razr's 3g.


The problem is, sadly, is im doing a lot of things between two devices. My internet is through my phone. My camera is through my phone. My browser if through my tablet. My calendar is on my phone.

Occasionally, bluetooth doesnt work. In order to keep using the 3g access, my phone must be placed in 'wcdma only' mode, otherwise it switches to edge back/forth. If I travel out of the 3g area, I have to then remember to turn edge back on.

I know im nitpicking, but sadly, it is the reality. I picked an iPhone on the cheap, and it now shows me the problems with the tablet/phone combo. While the power of a true browser on the n800 is amazing, the ability to have less, but simple, integrated, and smooth, is hard to deny.

Which brings me back to my point. Originally I had hoped for a SIM card when the n800 was announced. I got giddy when they suggested wimax or a sim slot was on the n810. I even accepted the scenario that I would have two devices. Truth is, there is no true harmony with two seperate devices.

So, for what I need, im gonna try going it alone with the iPhone for my pocket device. Backup will come from an Asus EEE Pc for when I need to get it done. I do hope that Nokia will find a way to give the tablets an 'always on' connection, and, dare i say, full phone capabilities in the future. To me, the iPhone does most of what I need, and it honestly doesnt even break a sweat doing it.

Good point. In my case, I always use my N800 in a wireless environment and I almost never use my cell phone. So having an iPhone would have no purpose. For people who are constantly using their cell phones and can't live without them, I can understand that one device rather than two is a significant convenience.

But your experience is almost user-specific, GB, and depends on variables outside the scope of the tablet per se (phone choice, plan choice, operator issues, etc).

Having examined the many arguments pro and con, I've concluded that *for me* keeping that cellular layer separate from the tablets was the right idea for now. That may or may not be true in the future. We'll see!

I agree Texrat, it is definetly different for each user. I wont argue, it didnt take long to find the limits of the iPhones web ability. Yet, when it works, its incredible.

Primarily, I:

Browse gadget/phone sites
Check my email
Look up local phone #'s
Read forums
Look for cars for sale on Craigslist
Shop on ebay
Check weather

iPhone excels at everything but ebay....i do prefer the n800 for that. On occasion I would upload pictures to a server, something I cant do with the iPhone (yet). I also have not tested any blogging ability, but ive never been a big blogger. I also miss the screen res of the n800.

even with the 'decent' connectivity of the n800 to the phone being acceptable, the iPhone also shows what is possible with a strong video processing chip. Once a page loads I can zip through it. I can also browse several pages at a time while others are loading.

iPhone feels well thought out, hopefully we will see some better integration/flow in the upcoming nxxx products.

Garage Battle,
I am curious, were the bluetooth connectivity issues ever traced to either the tablet or the phone? Some phones are known to have flaky bluetooth implementations. I hesitate to risk being labeled a Nokia shill and suggest trying a Nokia phone, but it would at least make sense that Nokia would perform more compatibility testing with their own phones. As for the 3G connectivity issues with your Razr, that is definitely the phone's problem. It is a long shot, but perhaps a firmware update might help?

On the other hand, what are the current limits of syncing of phone & tablet? My impression at this point is that the tablet would have to continually poll the phone for updates, creating time gaps when the devices are not in sync. Ideally, a daemon would run on each device and only communicate & update as needed, but instantly. With this seemless & invisible interaction the user would be able to use whichever device is on-hand or simplest to navigate.

I could usually leave the bluetooth on, and when the tablet moved from the house, it would then connect to the phone automatically. This made the tablet work rather well and reduce the connectivity time. Problems came when I would have to reset the phone or the tablet to get the bluetooth connectivity working again. Not too often, but ocassionally. Of the different phones I tried pairing with over time, I found the razr 2 to be most reliable in testing.

One of the smaller annoyances was the delay in bluetooth file managing. Attempting to browse pictures that were on the phone was semi-painful and slow when doing this through the tablets browser.


Also, it seemed silly to be carrying to weighted devices at one time. If the N800 browser were far superior to the iPhones, and fast, it would make sense. I feel that the iPhones browser makes a great amount of web on the go, just enough to be usable. For those more intimate situations, a tiny laptop (like an EEE Pc) would be better.

I see the iPhone being wonderful in the car, standing in line, in the bathroom. It is my casual web browser, email, my music source, and ocassionally video. IMHO because I cant use the n800/n810 as a 'strong' media player, it then makes me feel like I need yet another device to listen to music/watch vids. Granted, I can do these things with an n800/n810, just not quickly or smoothy as id like.

I do hope that Nokia is taking a few notes towards its next gen product, and trying to make us an even better product.

Yeah, this sounds like a phone-specific issue. My 3g phone (a Samsung) works perfectly with my N800. No hickups at all (except for those nasty areas with little to no coverage ). Having used the iPhone, I can definitely say that its browser does not stack up against the N800, not to mention the fact that it can't possibly compete with the N800 on any other fronts.

Its a motorola, im not suprised...